Maldon Books is excited to welcome best-selling author Sarah Wyndham Lewis to the bookshop this November.

Sarah will be joining us with her husband, Dale Gibson, of Bermondsey Street Bees, for a discussion on her latest book, 'The Wild Bee Handbook'.

About the book

The Wild Bee Handbook is about the 'other bees'. The ones that don't make honey. Together the wild solitary and bumblebee species make up more than 99 per cent of all 25,000 bee species on earth - and yet they so often go completely unnoticed.

These wild bees are essential pollinators; the unsung guardians of biodiversity and billions of vital food chains…. But they are also highly specialist, far less able than the domesticated honeybee to respond to changes in climate, land management or food resources. This puts them at much greater risk of extinction.

Most people know little or nothing about the wild bees' lives and their unique relationships with the plants and animals on earth. And yet these species lead fascinatingly complex and differentiated lifecycles; from the mason bees that lay their eggs in empty snail shells to the miner bees that tunnel deep underground and the cellophane bees who produce a substance which baffles scientists.

 The Wild Bee Handbook tells the wild bees' life stories alongside masses of practical hands-on advice for supporting them - through plantings, habitat creation, citizen science projects and more. It's a book about extraordinary bees, a book about organic gardening and a book about the author's own journey.

About Sarah Wyndham Lewis

Bestselling author of 'Planting for Honeybees' (2018) and now 'The Wild Bee Handbook', Sarah is co-founder of the multi-award-winning sustainable beekeeping practice Bermondsey Street Bees. The arrival of bees in her life prompted her to begin researching and planting forage to feed both honeybees and their wild cousins; the bumblebees and solitary bee species which are essential to maintaining biodiversity.

Alongside her own public and private realm planting projects, Sarah has mentored the creation of pollinator gardens in many different countries. Through her advocacy for sustainable honey production, she is also known in the food world as a writer and food awards judge. She is a professional Honey Sommelier, a member of the Guild of Food Writers and active in the Slow Food movement. Sarah and her husband Dale Gibson have recently moved to coastal Essex, where they are planting a four-acre site to feed pollinators and promote biodiversity amongst local wildlife.

About Dale Gibson

A highly experienced and dedicated beekeeper, Dale Gibson is the founder of Bermondsey Street Bees, a supplier of characterful, raw, single-source honeys to Chefs and Bartenders who want to support British beekeeping. He writes and speaks widely on issues around sustainable beekeeping in urban and rural settings. Recent speaking engagements have included Tate Modern, Royal Docklands Forum and Farrer & Co. Dale has appeared on TV worldwide, from Sky News to CNN and Al-Jazeera documentaries as well as Great British Menu, Eat The Week and Saturday Kitchen.

About the event

This event will take place at our bookshop, at 7pm. Guests are welcome to arrive from 6.45pm to get a drink and get seated. We'll be serving refreshments, including prosecco and soft drinks, and Sarah's books will be available to purchase and get signed at the end of the event. You can purchase tickets directly through Eventbrite or in the shop.

For any queries, get in touch via email or call 01621 854968.